Two men deny stealing from construction site

Two men have been remanded in custody after allegedly stealing items from a construction site.

Annise Bejaoui, 29 from Hamrun and Chrstopher Scerri, 37 from Senglea were charged before magistrate Audrey Demicoli this morning with stealing items from a site in Siggiewi. The theft, which occurred on 21 May, was aggravated by value, means and time. They were also charged with handling stolen goods.

Bejaoui alone was further accused of breaching bail conditions, handed to him when he was arraigned in 2015 for separate thefts. He has been charged with breaching bail a number of times in the past.

Inspector Roderick Agius told magistrate Audrey Demicoli how police had been tipped off by an eyewitness.

Bejaoui and Scerri, both unemployed, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Lawyers Noel Cutajar for Scerri and George Anton Buttigieg for Bejaoui requested bail.

The prosecution opposed the request, saying that in both cases there was an eyewitness who led the police to the men and the place robbed was a workplace where many people worked. The accused were also untrustworthy said the inspector, pointing out that both Bejaoui and Scerri were only a few months out of prison. “We must protect society,” said the inspector.

The men pay lip service to fighting their drug addiction but refused to do anything to change, said Inspector Agius, adding that “to sustain their habit and their living there is a good chance of more victims being made.”

In his submissions on bail, Buttigieg pointed to Constitutional rulings, saying that it was established that trustworthiness is not relevant to the granting of bail, but to the guarantee imposed.

Cutajar said the witness had posted publicly about the matter on Facebook, but the Inspector explained that that was one of the victims and not the witness he had in mind. Bejaoui had been given many chances in the past and had frittered them all away, Inspector Agius said.

The court denied the men bail for the reasons specified by the prosecution.